The Republican ticket is contested in the U.S. House District 17, with three people on the ballot -- Matt Connolly, Matthew Dietz and David Moylan. The winner will face incumbent U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, who is unopposed today.

Elliott, a longtime Wilson resident, said she tries to vote in every election. She dismissed suggestions that a primary in a nonpresidential voting year doesn't carry nearly the same weight as a presidential race.

"Personally, I think this is just as important as the presidential voting years -- maybe more important," she said. "I think local politics is where the problems begin, and we have to pay more attention to it than we do."

Terry Burke, 63, said he also was drawn to the polls by the Democratic primary for governor, but he would have cast a ballot even if the top of the ticket wasn't contested. He said he's rarely missed an opportunity to vote and was casting a ballot for the first time in Wilson since moving there a few months ago from Bethlehem.

"It's a nice day. People should get out: Take a walk," he said. "I just live right around the corner from here and it never hurts to go walking."